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The environmental NGO Ecotrust is searching for Resilience Fellow. The position is a one year post-doctoral or sabbatical fellowship located at their Portland, Oregon office. Details of the position and how to apply are below:

Position Summary

Ecotrust’s mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates economic opportunity, social equity and environmental well-being. Among Ecotrust’s many innovations are co-founding the world’s first environmental bank, starting the world’s first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, and food and farms, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic, and environmental decision-making. Over nearly 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $60 million into grants and investments into more than $300 million in capital for local communities in the Pacific Northwest. The Resilience Fellow will serve an important role in integrating Ecotrust core missions and activities with progressive socio-ecological system resilience thinking. This is a one year post-doctoral or sabbatical fellowship, to be located in the Portland, Oregon office.

Objectives/Responsibilities

The Resilience Fellow will assist program staff in applying resilience theory to conservation practice, in addressing complex resource management challenges, and contributing to innovative solutions. We are not looking for someone to examine successes and failures of Ecotrust programs as case studies, but rather to approach the issues Ecotrust tackles with an eye to what works and what doesn’t work, and how that can be incorporated into our work on the ground. The successful candidate will interact and share ideas with staff economists, ecologists, and spatial planners at Ecotrust. S/he will build relationships with other resilience thinkers and doers in academia and the private sector, and will conduct independent research relating to Ecotrust program areas (Community Ecosystem Services, Food and Farms, and Knowledge Systems).

The Fellow will have flexibility in choosing a research topic or area of interest. Potential projects could include, but are not limited to:

Comparison of socio-ecological systems and scenario-building in the Copper River, Alaska and Skeena River, British Columbia; what are new ways to foster community organization?

Impact of large-scale salmon hatcheries on fishery and community resilience; what are new incentives to maintain fishing incomes and communities?

Social and economic impacts of catch share programs; what are new ways to design these programs to protect both communities and fish populations?

Imagining the farm and/or ranch of the future, integrating the production of food, energy, and other ecosystem service. How do lessons from other bioregions apply and translate?

Fellowship outcomes could range from academic publications to informing new Ecotrust programs and initiatives.

Requirements

PhD in natural or social sciences, with applied research experience in complex systems, ecology, economics, or anthropology.

Experience or interest in applying resilience theory to conservation practice.

Willingness and ability to think creatively, problem solve and innovate.

Strong research and publication record.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Some travel required.

Salary is negotiable, depending on candidate’s requirements and experience.

How to Apply

Download and submit an Ecotrust Employment Application form (available as a PDF or Word Document at http://www.ecotrust.org/about/jobs.html) along with a statement of interest, curriculum vitae, and three references to Dr. Astrid Scholz, Vice President of Knowledge Systems, via email, ajscholz@ecotrust.org.